Sword Art Online Maiden of Black Water
by Yami Zelgadis
Summary: Two people lost within their own trauma, both trapped in the world of Sword Art Online and with the appearance of a Maiden in Black. Their pasts are coming back to haunt them, and everyone in Aincrad are caught in the crossfire. Can they both overcome fear and be able to repair what was lost 5 years prior. OC X Sinon pairing with hints of Kirito X Asuna of course.
1. Prologue Lurking in the Deep!

**Sword Art Online Maiden of Black Water**

**Prologue – Lurking in the deep!**

It had been two years since the incident that had caused uproar in Japan, with ten thousand people trapped inside the virtual reality world of Sword Art Online. It had meant to have come to an end, with the black swordsman defeating the very creator of the game. Alas that had not happened, during the fight something had felt off. The world itself seemed to have glitched, Heathcliff had slowed down and Kirito lunged for him seemly stabbing him and winning the match. However, the brave fighters on the assault team soon realised this wasn't the case. The game was still continuing with many players having to adept to the newer floors, due to the loss of anything below floor seventy-six.

The assault team continued their quest to clear all one hundred floors, but things weren't going smoothly, as the team had reached floor ninety several locations had been spotted there. Though the place that had caught many people's interest was that of a mountain in the far end of the floor. It wasn't for its high drop rate or even for the quests around it, instead it had been a place where most players feared to tread.

In the vicinity of the mountain known as Mt. Hikami, it was known that people had been mysteriously disappearing without a trace.  
One such girl is Shino Asada, known in this world as Sinon. It had been unclear when she had gone missing, or even how she ended up on the mountain but little did she know it would set off even bigger events.

Sinon awoke to sound of rippling water, her body was awfully cold and it took her only a short time to realise that she must be floating on said water. Though this water seemed different from standard water, the gentle ripples looked like long rivers of raven hair. Her eyes slowly opened as she stared up an old wooden roof, she couldn't contemplate where she was. The last thing she remembered she ran up to the mountain, worrying about a friend she had met after being brought into the game. In fact, after what he almost did, she was worried what he may have done next. The boy had been a friend of hers from childhood, but he didn't seem in his right mind when she had met him again. Though now wasn't the time to worry about that now, as she regained her senses and slowly raised herself up from the black water.

It was deeper than expected, as she stood up the water still lapped around her thighs, but at least she could touch the bottom with her feet. The room was nothing special, mostly old wooden walls, as well as old sliding doors usually seen within old shrines found in Japanese villages for people to pray at.

Sinon held herself close, she was freezing due to the chilling water. She was relieved no one was around however, as she knew full well that if her clothes were this damp, chances are they were see through. Shuddering at the very thought of being so exposed, she had remembered a time when she had been training with Kirito and after an incident where the later had sneezed. Both of them had ended up in a river, causing them to both get wet and Kirito had caught a glimpse of her underwear. It was times like this she was simply glad he wasn't around, or any other guy for that matter. The last thing she wanted was some horny teenager ogling her like she was a prize to be won.

"Where am I?" She spoke out loud, looking around. As she did though several figures emerged from the water, they looked human though something was off. Every single one of them were women, with long black hair all of which covered their eyes. Not only that they all seem to be wearing ceremonial robes like the ones wore by shrine maidens. The women's faces were all pale but that wasn't the only thing that was odd, all of them looked translucent. Every single one of them could be seen through, like looking at a glass door. No, it wasn't possible, it was beyond silly but they all appeared to be ghosts.

Sinon felt a chill in the air, with a small but unmistakeable pressure. These 'ghosts' were clearly not friendly, it seemed stupid ghosts weren't real. Then again, she was not in the normal world and things weren't what they seemed in Aincrad. All she could think of was getting out of here, the sooner the better. At the time she could see three of these ghost maidens in front of her, she turned slightly to see another door which was open.

A small tinge of relief hit her body, there was a way out and she had to move. Her feet were heavy due to the water, but she forced her legs to work. Her legs hurt but she didn't care, as she trudged through the water, doing her best to avoid the women who all seemed to be taking an interest in her. She could see the door get closer and closer, freedom was close, but as she was about to reach the door a fourth women appear right in front of her.

The shrine maiden violently lunged at her, grabbing her arm with vigour. Sinon could see the expression on her face, or at least what she could make of it. Her hair was messy and disorganised, mouth wide open as she moaned at her prey shaking her violently. Sinon struggled hard against her, not wanting to see what would happen if she didn't. The woman's scream was horrifying, it was hollow and lifeless almost like she would be sucked into a void if her mouth could swallow her whole. But the sooner it had begun, the sooner it ended as Sinon was let go and she fell backwards.

Hitting the water hard, Sinon could feel the pressure getting worse. More ghost maidens appeared, she wondered if the more she got wet the more ghost women would appear. Not wanting to find out the answer to that question, she got to her feet doing her best to sidestep the ghosts. She had no way to fight back against them, so at this point all she could do was dodge them. She ducked and weaved her way around several of them, all of them wailing away. It was hard work but she pushed forward, the door was only a few feet away now. Almost there she thought as one of her legs went over the threshold, but another maiden had got close behind her trying her best to embrace the girl. Not wanting to get caught, Sinon threw herself over the doorway nearly bumping into the opposite wall as the door slammed shut behind her. She had made it! Or at least she had got out of that room.

She felt dizzy and sick, and what made matters worse was she could hear laughter behind the door. If they really were ghosts, they wouldn't stay behind that door for long, all of this seemed so surreal but right now only one thought came to mind. 

"I have to get out of here!"

With her heart still racing, Sinon stepped forward and walked down the hall. As she did, she noticed to her right a lattice, but what caught her attention was what was on the other side of it. Several stone statues were on the outside, but what was more puzzling was the fact that there was a cave wall there too. This only made the dimly lit hallway even darker than usual, as well as the fact that Sinon knew she had to be underground.

"Oh great! Now, how do I get out of here?" She mumbled quietly to herself, slowly taking a deep breath Sinon had to remain calm. After all what would getting worked up do for her? She turned and walked down the hallway, coming up to a left turn she took it and a quick right one after that. Small dimly lit lanterns were her only guide, as she continued to walk, all she could hear was the dull sound of her footsteps on the wooden floor. As she turned right, she saw a light at the end of a long corridor, two stone doors were open leading to this light. Though her vision was usually great, the dim lighting didn't help her see what was beyond the door. Still at this point, it was better than staying here.

"Ooooh!" A wailing sound came to the right of her, accompanied by the sound of wicked laughter. Sinon could see out of the corner of her eye, black hair and pale white robes. It was what she had feared, the ghosts from the previous room were following her. It was now or never, she had to get out and without hesitating she burst into a run.

The sound of her running footsteps drowned out the ghosts, something that was actually reassuring. The door was getting closer and closer, Sinon could almost taste the freedom as she continued to run. Just what was this place, and why was she brought here? She knew these questions probably wouldn't be answered, but anything to drown out the horror behind her was fine. She was only now a few feet away from the door, her arm extended to reach out for it. She was going to make it, or so she thought!

Suddenly the doors slammed shut, with a large deafening bang! Sinon's heart sank as the realisation had hit her, she was probably stuck down here now with those ghosts. She wanted to lash out, ready to punch out at the door for closing on her. It was then the strangest thing happened, as she had reached for it a sharp vision entered her head.

It was like watching an old black and white film, though the main difference was everything still seemed real. At first, she saw the angered face of a shrine maiden, her teeth gritted and her face sunken, reaching out to grab whoever was in front of her. Then the image changed to see several cloaked individuals, all brandishing weapons laughing as they tore into several people on the ground. The victims screaming and wailing, as their arms were up begging for their assailants to stop. As she was observing Sinon couldn't help but notice something, on the attacker's arms were coffin shaped tattoos.

She had heard of these people from Kirito and the others, they were known as Laughing Coffin. A notorious player killer guild, that despite this very game meaning that death was permeant. The players in this guild simply didn't care, and were willing to kill just for the 'fun' of it. The very thought sickened Sinon, how could they do this? Not only that but now she was looking directly at one of these crimes, it only made her stomach knot up more in disgust.

The next image was a much simpler one, it was of five female players all standing with their arms linked together. They appeared to be in a body of water, and she couldn't help but wonder if these were some of those ghosts she had seen before. The next two scenes were almost quick flashes, but she remembered just as quickly. The first had been another cloaked figure, running down a forest path with a knife in one his left hand. Whilst holding up a burning torch in the right, by the looks of things they were chasing after something or someone, but it was too hard to tell.  
The other split image was of various hands flailing out of a wall, they were marble white and were desperately grabbing the air. The thing was the wall looked very similar to the lattice; she had just been passed.

As she contemplated what she had seen, the next image burst through her mind, showing a woman face half submerged in black water. Her mouth gaping open with what appeared to be blood running out of the left side, her right eye had been gouged out, leaving a stream of blood coming down her cheek. As for the left eye, it was intact but completely devoid of life. A combo of water and blood ran over her face.

The final image was of a stone box, bursting open revealing a stream of black water flowing out of the box and lapping down the mountainside where the box had been sitting. As the image stopped Sinon gave out a small gasp, she had no idea what that was all about but she also didn't want to find out. Coming back to reality she heard the howling behind her, and that brought her back to her current predicament. The ghosts were on the opposite end of the hallway, and though they weren't coming down quickly. Sinon knew they would eventually box her in if she wasn't careful, she observed her surroundings and noticed another pathway in the corridor. It was a little further forward and to the left, at this point it was her best bet so she quickly ran up and turned into the left path.

All of this was becoming a bit too much for Sinon, what exactly was all this about? First, she had been trapped in the death game, and now she seemed to be trapped in an underground shrine where ghosts seemed to be real. Her mind was spinning and she slowed her pace, trying to come to terms with all the weird things that had been happening to her recently. Then she heard it!

The sound of running water, she looked further down the hall and saw the reason for the sound. Water was flowing down the hall, getting closer and closer by the second. Though it wasn't deep, what was more shocking was the strands of black that came with the water. They were like thick black hair, flowing down with the water turning it from clear to complete black. The water was as dense as tar, and as it hit Sinon's legs she couldn't help but let out a small yelp. Only for things to simply get worse!

A woman dressed in black appeared, she was walking on top of the black thick water yet no sound was coming with her footsteps. Her clothing was similar to that of the other shrine maiden ghosts, but this one was taller and had her hood up. Said hood had two noticeable purple hibiscus flowers on the left-hand side, and Sinon could see black hair under the hood. The woman had dried white skin, and cracked purple lips with strands of black coming up her neck.

The air had become awfully dense, and Sinon found it hard to breath. This woman in black was clearly not someone she wanted to be around, but her feet were rooted to the spot out of pure fear. She suddenly blinked, and as she did the woman in black disappeared. Instinctively Sinon turned around, but alas nothing was there. Her eyes scanned around the hallway, she heard nothing and saw nothing. Which was odd! The other ghosts that had been following her didn't make any sound, it didn't make any sense. If these spirits were after her, why would they suddenly appear, chase her and then simply disappear? It didn't take her long to find out the answer!

Sinon's blood turned cold, she could feel something touch her body from behind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a petal of purple, in her vision. The woman in black had snuck up behind her, and grabbed a hold of her. The woman's grip was strong as she spun the girl around to face her, Sinon simply couldn't break free as she stared back at the face of her captor. She gasped in shock as for the first time she saw the eyes of the maiden. They were an odd shade of orange, filling everything minus the iris which were brown. The look and appearance really gave off another worldly feel, and along with her cracked purple lips curling up to smile at her prey, Sinon couldn't help but shiver.

"Shall we fall together?" The woman in black said, her voice slow and echoed. Sinon was shaking fully now, she couldn't speak her breath was caught in her throat, and all that was going through her head was what was this woman planning to do with her. The maiden smiled before speaking once again.  
"Shall we fall together…My little murderer!?"

A loud squeak left Sinon's lips. "W-What!?" Not quite able to believe what she had heard; how did the black maiden know about that? Did she know about it? The one thing that had traumatised her since she was eleven, the one singular event that had changed everything in her life.

"Don't try to deny what you did!" The black maiden screeched making the black water produce waves where they stood. Those orange eyes gazed heavily in the eyes of her victim, noticing the obvious fear plastered over the teenage girl. The maiden grinned in pleasure before she spoke again.  
"Poor girl…" She gentled caressed Sinon's cheek with her hand. "Trying to run away from the past, wishing to be strong to move on, and yet so scared. Tell me dear girl, will anyone miss you?"

This was getting to be too much for Sinon, it was like this woman could read her thoughts and heart. Staring right into her very being, she wanted to run away but she couldn't. The words of the maiden had struck her core, and now she simply couldn't move. "I…I…" She simply stumbled over her words, knowing no matter what she said nothing would escape the maiden's eyes.

"You secretly wish to be stronger, to escape your own weakness. Yet at the same time, you wish for someone to save you." The woman in black said her face twisting in extreme pleasure. "How very sad…No one will be coming for you!"

Tears ran down Sinon's eyes, what the maiden was saying was true. Ever since that day, five years ago she wanted someone to save her. She couldn't tell if what she had done was right, it had burned into her heart ever since. It was there she began to recall her time back then, all of the kids calling her murderer. The blood she kept seeing on her hands, no one wanted to help. Reach out their hand to her, prove to her that she wasn't wrong for taking another's life.

"Don't worry it won't be painful." The maiden soothed. "In fact, before you know it all the pain you felt will be gone. Lost with your very life, so I will ask you once again." She let her grip on Sinon go. "Will you fall with me?"

Though fear was gripping her heart, Sinon forced her legs to move. There was no way to get past the black maiden, so her only hope was to run back and find another exit. She turned and ran back down the hallway; it may be hopeless but there was still the door on the right junction. It seemed to be the only way out at this point, so she turned to the right and to her surprise the door was now open. Not even considering the options as the other ghosts were also pursuing her, she leapt through the open stone doors and they slammed behind her.

"Why is this happening?" Sinon gasped to herself, could the door even hold out those spirits? Weirdly no sound was coming from the other side, had they simply stopped pursing her? Or was there more to it then that? Monitoring the new room, she was in, there was defiantly something off about this one in comparison to the previous rooms.

For starters this room looked more like an old shrine, that would have been right at home in an old Japanese town. There were two stone marble archways in the room, one was right above where she was standing. Whilst the other was on the end of the room, both of them were accompanied by pale white stairs. Also, of note were several other pillars keeping the main roof of the room aloft. They had various images on them, several of them portraying shrine maidens in what looked like a ritual. These rituals looked like they were performed under the pale light of the moon, which Sinon couldn't help but notice was coming from a gap in the roof.

It looked like the women had to be sealed in giant boxes, devoid of devotion or wanting. According to some of the text seen too, this made them 'pillars' to prevent the return of the black water. Sinon couldn't help but snort at that, as she noticed the whole room was covered once again in said water. It seemed that whoever wrote about these rituals believed that, the water was connected to the underworld. If it overflowed or the ritual was a failure, the boarder between the real world and the world of the dead would break. It was a crazy thought, but this was a game so insane stories like this made sense.

"So that's it huh?" Sinon mumbled to herself, this was one weird scenario to be in but right now she had to figure a way out. There didn't appear to be another way out, as she looked over the room. All that was left was the giant black box in the middle, it was lit up due to the moonlight shining from the roof. She didn't like the thought of going near it, but it may have some clues on how to get out. So, against her better judgement, she took a step closer to the box.

That proved to be a mistake, as she approached the box the lid slowly creaked open. Weirdly air bubbles arose from it, almost like it would if the whole room had been underwater. Black and grey streams flooded out of the box, overflowing it and dribbling into the water into the water. All of a sudden, the head of a human arrived with the rest of the body, summoned forth with the streams. Sinon had expected it to be a woman emerging from the box, yet it wasn't it was a man.

No, it wasn't just a man. It was a man she recognised, those small and diluted eyes. That wavy unkempt hair, his dry cracked lips, that crooked grin, and there was a bullet hole in his forehead oozing black blood, which ran down his face. It was him!

Sinon tried to back away, but her feet wouldn't let her. She looked down, noticing the streams that were flooding from the box had entered the water and attacked her legs. Wrapping around her thighs, preventing her from moving she felt them moving further up her body. She let out a small whimper, as she looked back the man fully starting to emerge from the box. The streams had reached her neck, now feeling heavier like black tendrils squeezing at her body, as they edged up her face. It was hard to breath; her vision was going black but still he came toward her. The man who Sinon shot dead five years ago, he had come back to haunt her. He laughed viciously and lunged at the defenceless girl, his eyes streaming black liquid, reaching out with his clammy hands. Sinon felt him touch her with his deathly touch, she let out a scream before her vision went completely black.

No one had heard that scream, on that day Sinon disappeared. She had been sealed away in that shrine on top of the mountain. At that time, all she could remember were the words of the black maiden.

"How very sad…no one will be coming for you!"

**A/N: Phew that was a doozy to write. I know this is a bit different to my usual style, but I really wanted to try a bit of a horror style theme this time. Don't worry this won't be all horror themed, after all this is still a SAO story too. Though I'm sure most of you will be wondering why I chose these two series, well for one I love both of these series. Project Zero (Fatal Frame) has always been a very overlooked horror series, and the fifth game I feel gets a lot of hate. Whilst SAO well it isn't perfect granted, but again it gets a stupid amount of hate. So, I felt I would show some love for both series. I also want to clear up a few things that are bound to be questioned otherwise. Number one, this takes place in the gameverse. Hence why Sinon is in SAO, I was originally planning for this to take place in the cannon universe, but the only way I felt that would work is if I set it in the real world, which kind of defeats the purpose of SAO. Secondly yes there is going to be an OC and Sinon pairing, I always hated in SAO that Kirito got the attention of all the girls, not to mention some being pointless in general. So, I think it is fair to balance it out with a male OC. He will appear in chapter 1, and will be the main focus alongside Sinon.  
Thirdly Kirito and his crew are still going to be here, as I have a use for all the girls. I even hinted about it here. However, he is more of a side character but will get a small side story within this story. Just don't expect every character to be shown off equally because that probably won't happen. **

**Okay I rambled enough; I hope you enjoyed this prologue. If you enjoyed the story please review, fav the story or follow me, it gives me the motivation to continue and feedback is always good. I can take criticism as long as you're not being a jerk about it, but I am always happy to learn. Oh, one last thing, I may be looking for some new characters to be introduced. Not many but if you have ideas for spirits, players or even new Laughing Coffin members I will be happy to take them into account. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!**


	2. Memories of Death

**Chapter 1 – Memories of Death!**

In the place I was standing, all that could be seen was thick fog. Nothing could be seen from miles around; I could barely make my own body out as I looked down to see if I could see the floor. It was impossible, and yet for whatever reason I kept taking a step forward.

My footsteps didn't make sound, there was no noise in anything, not even in my breathing. Was I even breathing? I didn't know, how could I know? Everything around me was grey, and yet I felt like I had been here before. Not with my physical body but with my spirit. Ok even I think that sounded stupid, but there was something familiar about it all. I continued to walk on not really knowing where I was going, nor did I seem to care. My feet simply kept going, only stopping when they felt like it somewhere in this never-ending fog.

I tried to peer out into the fog, and yet I didn't know what I was trying to see. Surely there had to be a point to this, yet a sense of hopelessness washed over me. What the hell was I even looking at? As all seemed lost, I finally saw two figures emerge from the mist.

One of them was a slender woman, with short black hair. Her blue eyes were as deep and bright like an ocean, skin pale white with delicate pink lips. The other was a man with dirty blonde hair, his face firm and sturdy. He was fairly muscular and his brown eyes were dark, one stare could pierce the heart of anyone. I knew both of them naturally.

"Mother, Father!" I gasped in shock, it couldn't be four years ago they were in an accident and died. A pang of guilt hit me in the chest harder than a bullet from a gun, they died because of me.

My father reached out to me; his arms outstretched. His eyes piercing into mine, I couldn't move. When he was alive my old man had been very strict, but he did love his family above all. Though I could feel something not quite right there with his gaze. Suddenly my air waves were being cut off, he was holding both his arms around me throat.

"Why didn't you listen to me Son!?" His voice lashed out of his mouth in malice, as his hands squeezed tighter around my throat. I could already see myself passing out soon.

"If you simply trusted us over that _girl_, we would still be alive!" My mother's soft voice came forward, but there was no doubt there was venom in her voice. Especially at the word girl, I wanted to fight back as I know who she was referring to. Alas though I felt my eyes slowly close, and all that was left was black.

I awoke later in a daze; I was amazed to think I lived through that. All I could see was a concrete floor, so at least I could tell I was face down.

"Where am I?" I asked to no one in particular, but what was odd was my voice. The voice coming out of my mouth wasn't how I sounded. It was too high pitched, despite being sixteen I had a fairly deep voice for my age. So why was my voice so squeaky now?

Slowly raising myself up, I looked over at a puddle on the floor it was then it all became clear. The person staring back was me, but not the me of now. No this was me from four years ago. A soft male face started back his eyes similar to my mother's, my hair went down around three quarters down my neck. I made it that way to cover my stuck-out ears, I hated those ears back then. My face was young and childish, too childish for a twelve-year-old. God I was lucky never to be mistaken for a girl. I also had one other notable feature my eyes.

I was in a small population who had Heterochromia, one of my eyes was blue and the other was green. This was due to my grandmother; she had the same condition when she was born. It made me think what she would be thinking about all that had happened to me in the last two years. Being trapped in a death game wasn't exactly something you could simply accept straight away, so I could only imagine how it must have felt for people on the outside.

Still what was happening now wasn't part of the death game. No, it was all in my head, I could tell when I looked back at my clothes. I was dressed in a plain black shirt which was covered by a blue jacket, accompanied with blue shorts. Looking around it was clear that this was a part of my past.

The building in front of me was very basic, it was a small square building with several small rooms on the west and east sides. The front was painted white, where two doors stood in front of the structure. I knew it to be my old elementary school, it was when I was in my final year. It started to feel a bit run down in most people's eyes, but it hadn't been the worst school back then. I was about to head towards the doors but then I heard it.

"Keep away from me Murderer!" A shrill female voice cried out, followed by several other voices all young crying the same thing over again.

"Murderer!"

"Don't come near us!"

"She will kill us all!"

I looked in the direction of the voices, and ran towards the circle of children. This memory always cut me like a knife, in the middle of the circle was a girl in the previous year to me. Her features were so soft and delicate, her brown eyes looked down barely looking at anyone. She had short black hair with two bangs on each side of her head, her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved white top, red shorts and adorable pink shoes.

"Stop it leave her alone!" Those words automatically came from my mouth. It was a part of the memory; my body was moving on its own. I threw myself into the circle and placed myself between the hecklers and the girl. As I did, I could see her expression it from fairly stoic, to a pained expression. It hurt to see that expression every time I relived this memory.

"Of course, you would protect her, Setsuhi!" One of them spat at my face, the young man's face was cruel and his smirk left me feeling cold. "Then again you have never been one of us anyway, you are only a half breed you freak!"

Half breed! Those words hurt me badly as a child. You see my name is David Setsuhi, as you can probably guess I'm not fully Japanese. Oh no I'm actually half British and half Japanese, my mother fell in love with a Japanese man whilst she was studying abroad. Ultimately, they didn't say anything that was noteworthy, but they did love each other deeply. So much so, they had two children, the first had been Mayu my older sister.

Two years separated us, she was so mature and beautiful. Long black hair, glossy lips and dark brown eyes like my father. No matter where she went, she always made an effort to help others. I had to admit I was a bit jealous of her at times, she was clearly the apple of our parent's eyes. Whilst I wasn't at all a bad son, I couldn't help but think they saw her in a brighter light then me. Even though we at times felt worlds apart, my sister had never judged me and even when our parents had died. Mayu made sure to look out for me. Still she also never suffered the same prejudice I got, I guess since she had the full Japanese name, she got away with it.

"Well they are both freaks, so naturally only a freak would care about a murderer!" A girl chipped in, giggling at her insult.

"Shino isn't a freak or a murderer! You don't know anything about her!" I yelled back in anger. The girl behind me, didn't even react she simply kept looking down at her hands.

Shino was my only friend at this school, since I was a disgusting half breed and she was awfully quiet. We usually spent a lot of time in the library together, she had told me about her Mother. Ever since her Dad had died when she was coming up to two, her mother had been in a traumatised state. Apparently, she had reverted to a state prior to meeting her husband, and Shino had been doing everything she could to look out for her. Even at her young age she was so sweet and mature, there was no wonder why I liked her. She didn't judge my heritage and saw me for me. Though it was this day that things changed.

"David…" Shino's voice came from behind me, it was barely audible but I could just about make it out. I turned to face her; she still didn't look up at me. Her lips quivered and I could tell she was fighting back tears, probably in an attempt not to appear weak in front of the mob. "Just forget about me."

No matter how many times I had this memory, those words broke my heart. How could she say that? No matter how hard things got, we stuck together but now she refused to let me help. I hated my weakness, like everyone else I had heard of the events of what happened in that post office. Shino had managed to shoot a robber dead with his own gun, sure it sounded bad but I knew in my heart she wouldn't have done it in cold blood. If I knew Shino, I would have bet she did it to protect her mother.

"What are you saying!?" my voice quaking. "I can't do that!" Shino didn't respond she simply turned and walked away from me and the others. "Shino!" I cried out but before I could reach out for her, several boys in the group had pulled me back and I felt several fists hitting my body and face. A sea of punches rained down on me, blurring my vision once again, I could feel my consciousness fade away once again, as my world turned dark with a horrible burning pain of regret to go with it.

Saying that waking up and being stuck in another memory wasn't tedious, would probably be the biggest understatement of the year. At this point I just wish I could wake up properly, I knew I wasn't dead. It was actually not that simple, in certain 'episodes' I will flash back on past events. What caused this? I wouldn't be able to say, it is like a form of daydreaming and deep thought. Sometimes I would start to think hard and before I knew it, everything around me feels just like it did in my memories.

This time however, I was back in Aincrad. I looked like my normal self, or at least what this system saw as normal. My face was identical to how it been back when I had been trapped in SAO, it was still fairly childish but my hair was more rounded. It still hid my ears, but now it was more swept so my left green eye was covered. I gentle moved it aside, so it was easier to see. Looking around I could tell I was on 76th floor, the Arc Sophia. To be more specific I was in the market place area of the main town. It was a beautiful town, white marbled buildings which were used as inns or shops dazzled in the sunlight. The ground was smooth and even, a big perk of this virtual reality. No roads or pavements would get cracked no matter the many people who would trudge through it.

Oddly though this marketplace was fairly quiet, then again most of the assault squad had left to look for the next boss room. I would have joined myself; it wasn't like I wasn't capable. My equipment wasn't too shabby, sure I was no Black Swordsman but I could hold myself up in a fight. I didn't belong to a guild, or at least I don't anymore. That may be another story for another time. I wore a dark blue jacket, with matching shirt, covered by a black armour breastplate. My trousers were also black and my boots, it was a basic outfit but simple enough for quick movement. My build was about power and speed, it was more tactical to wear as little armour as possible.  
Ok sure it left me more exposed to attacks but I could move a lot quicker and attack when I saw an opening.

The sword on my back was a one-handed blade, a bit slimmer than most but not like a rapier. A decent amount of weight was behind it, so it would certain hurt if I swung at anything. Ever since I had killed a boss on the sixty fifth floor, I had obtained it, the sword was called the Crimson Butterfly. As you could expect from a weapon with that name, the blade was a deep red colour with a butterfly on both sides of the hilt. It was an odd thing, I felt right wielding this sword. Though to be honest I knew of the symbolism behind the butterfly, the cycle of transformation, birth and death. What a very ironic thing that was, my surname Setsuhi practically meant melody of death. No matter how hard I wished for it, I don't think I could ever truly run away from that pain.

Though the reason I didn't join up with the assault team, was due to what I had been feeling recently. This world had taken so much away from me, my life and even my sister. I was starting to feel crushed, when Kirito had fought Heathcliff. I thought the nightmare would end, but no I saw the way the world was being warped and glitchy. As soon as the final blow had been delivered, I could tell something had gone wrong. It was soon after I found out how right I was, we all were stuck in this damn place. I know you probably would think, by now you would think I would want out of here more then anything. Though to tell you the truth, I had lost all my motivation. What was the point of fighting? Sure, we may have a chance of getting out, but what was really left for me when I got out? My immediate family was dead, I had lost two years of my life. Meaning I would be behind where I should be, not to mention what the possible outcomes could be for survivors of this death game. Could it even be possible to live a normal life, after being trapped for so long? I simply didn't know anymore.

I sighed and continued my walk. I had entered a new area of the town; it was similar to plaza of the warp gate. Minus the obvious handicap of no summon gate, instead it was more like a park area. A beautiful circle of greenery, mixed with the brown wooden benches and several grey street lights. It reminded me of a park I used to go to back in the real world, it was probably one of only a few places I could relax. In the centre of the area was a stunning fountain, it was stone and the bird on the top sprayed water down into the basin. I looked down into the water looking back at my face, I looked better than the previous memory at least I looked a bit older. Though I still had my long hair, I couldn't help but laugh to myself. My family hated my hair this long, sure it was long but it only went down the back of my neck. It wasn't like long girl's hair. Oh well guess there was no pleasing some people.

As I continued to look into the water, back at the face that belonged to me. It had happened, the sky was being ripped apart. Well a piece of it anyway, it was the same effect when Kirito and Heathcliff clashed. A distorted colour of pixels, but what emerged from them surprised me more. I could see that a person was emerging from the distortion, it was slow at first like if an angel was falling from heaven. Though I could tell it wouldn't be long until the person fell, I turned and ran as quickly as I could towards the area below the sky portal.

"Damn it, I've got to make it!" screaming to myself, I forced my feet to go as fast as I could. Whoever was falling from the sky was now falling very quickly, even with my fast agility stat I couldn't help but fear I wouldn't make it. The figure was almost at the ground now, without hesitation I dived forward pushing my legs back as I went for a running catch. My arms outstretched, I dived onto my back and before I knew it, I felt something in my arms. I was surprised the person wasn't that heavy, but I barely took notice as it was hard to focus thanks to the adrenaline.

Taking a few breaths, I finally composed myself, who or what did I just catch in my arms? The first thing to take note of was the outfit, it was an unusual outfit. The basic part of a green tunic hugged the body of the owner, covering the bottom shorts which were coloured black. There were also long black gloves with only the two middle fingers covered and matching black top which clung to the figure's chest though I couldn't quite see the top as it was covered by a large red muffler around their neck. The other noticeable thing was one breastplate that swung from their left shoulder, protecting that one side of the body. It wasn't hard to say this was a girl, her petite frame gave it away. Though I won't deny she was very pretty, I could feel the softness of her skin as I held in my arms. Her legs were slim and long, not to mention her chest was nicely rounded too. Hey don't give me that, you would have thought the same. I'm a teenage boy for god sake! What can I say I'm attracted to girls like most guys are!

After examining the appearance of my fallen angel, I took a look at her face and I gasped loudly. Her hair was black and thin, with two small adorable white ribbons tied to her bangs, whilst also being cut short at the back. Her skin was a pale white, but I couldn't see her eyes as they were shut. I could see her lips were slightly parted and she was breathing comfortably, as her chest moved up and down slowly. She was still alive thank goodness! Still I couldn't believe it, it couldn't be her. I knew there was only one way to fully check, I reached for her right hand and gentled examined it. My eyes widened as soon as I saw it. There it was! A black spot! I know it sounds odd, most would expect it was probably just a mole, but I knew for a fact it wasn't. This spot was caused by gunpowder, that means there was no doubt anymore. I knew exactly who this was!

"Shino…" I spoke weakly, I couldn't believe it. The girl who had been my closest friend, that same friend who had left four years ago and with it a part of me left too. She was here, in SAO. In my arms right now, I wanted to cry but I held it in. Why was she here? She shouldn't have been here! Yet a part of me was relieved she was, yet I also felt selfish for thinking that. Afterall she was now in the same danger all of us were in, and I didn't know what I could do.

"David!" A voice came from behind me, I tilted my head in the direction of the voice, but I refused to let go of Shino. The guy coming towards me was none other then the Black Swordsman, Kirito as his name suggested he was decked out in all black. Whilst I did like black, I couldn't deny with the black of his outfit, plus his hair I swear he looked like a cockroach.

My relationship with him was of mild friendship, I had worked with him a couple of times in boss fights. Plus, on certain side quests, he was a nice enough guy, though I couldn't deny it pissed me off how many attractive girls seemed attracted to him. Seriously he was clearly a computer dork, and yet he would hang around with at least five girls. I guess I was just jealous, after all the only girl that even remotely spoke to me was…my face was burning at the thought, but I calmed down. No way in hell Shino thought that way about me, we were friends…just friends…

"We saw the distortion in the sky, and ran to come what was happening." A girl with long chestnut hair suddenly spoke up, she was wearing a white and red guild outfit, with a red skirt. A slim light blue rapier by her side, this was the infamous vice commander of the Knight's of the Blood Oath. The Flash herself Asuna. She was also Kirito's 'Wife', she was sickly sweet for being a vice commander, as well as overly pretty. I didn't exactly trust her though, she reminded me too much of several girls I had met in middle school. They appear sweet and kind, but secretly they were poison underneath. Maybe I was being harsh, but I had a feeling she didn't exactly trust Kirito either. Then again, he kept picking up stray girls everywhere he went, so maybe I shouldn't be so judgemental.

"Wait who is this!?" Kirito finally reached me, and noticed me cradling the unconscious girl in my arms. No doubt this may look bad, if I was the kind of guy who would be able to talk to girls normally. Well there was a reason, I was a gamer you know.

"Well umm…" I stuttered; it was a known rule that you don't talk about real life in this world. So, I didn't know how to introduce the girl in my arms, it wasn't like I could simply say "_This is Shino, she was a friend of mine until she alleged killed a man!_" This was too much of a delicate situation so, at first it seemed the most logical to feign ignorance but would that really help? After all what if Shino recognised me when she woke up?

A faint moan was suddenly heard, looking down I could see Shino twitching in my arms. Her eyes slowly opened revealing those beautiful black orbs, looked around in a daze. "Wha…Where am I?" She looked around noticing the guy with black hair, and the chestnut haired Asuna. Then her face blushed as she realised that I was holding her. "Hey what do you think you are doing!?"

I quickly released her, and blushed myself. "I'm sorry, it is just you fell from the sky and I caught you. I didn't want you to die, so I simply caught you Sh…umm sorry I don't think I caught your name." God, I sounded stupid.

"My name?" She asked looking confused, but she soon flipped it on me. "Shouldn't you name yourself before asking someone else for their name."

Wait didn't she recognise me? She was acting very odd, but she did have a point. "My name is David, and right now we are in Sword Art Online. So, my advice is to do this motion to open your menu." I demonstrated by using my right index finger and thumb, with one quick swipe down I brought out my menu.

Shino did the same as me, and scanned her menu carefully. "David…?" Her voice showed obvious confusion, I had predicted as much as a lot of this would be overwhelming to a newcomer. Still something else made my heart hurt, at the way she had said my name.  
"Oh, it appears my name is Sinon, here so I guess that is what you can call me."

That defiantly made sense, most players used different names whilst playing games. I had to admit I hated my lack of originality, and using my real name but hell it was unique as no one had a full English name. A benefit of being a 'disgusting half breed' I guess. Sinon was clearly a play on her real name, so at least now I was sure this girl was indeed Shino.

It was Kirito who broke the silence, "Well if you are new here, you best head back with us. We have a place we all gather and live up here, so it would be safer if you stay with us. I'm sure we can all give you pointers on how to survive here." He was smiling like a small child, clearly, he was still enjoying his life in here. Then again, a computer geek finally becoming strong, it was practically every dorky kid dream. Plus, since Kirito was considered one of the best, it didn't surprise me in the slightest. I would have to keep an eye on him, clearly a guy who loved to play hero.

Sinon simply nodded, and we all travelled back to Agil's place. As Asuna and Kirito took the lead, I stuck back and tried to speak with my old friend. Unfortunately, I didn't really know what to say, my words were caught in my throat and I simply ended up staring at her.

Eventually she noticed my constant staring, and to say the least she wasn't happy with me. "Will you stop staring at me!?" She screamed, her brow frowning and her eyes sharp as daggers.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" I paused; this was going to be hard. "Say do you recognise me?"

Sinon expression softened, but it became a lot more confused. "Should I?"

It was then I could feel my heart split in two. How could she not recognise me? We had been very close friends back then. I know it sounds selfish, but after finally seeing her again. I wanted to make amends; it was hard to explain but it was hard not to feel responsible. If only I could have understood the situation better, she may have never left in the first place.  
"Oh, umm no, sorry I guess you just remind me of someone I knew. Probably just my imagination, after all I've been stuck in here for two years. Might just be remembering incorrectly, just forget I said anything." I gave off a very weak laugh, it wasn't convincing whatsoever.

"Okay…" Sinon still looked at me like I fell of the turnip truck. Not that I could blame her, god I was such a loser. Still as we continued to walk, I had noticed her eyes showing a different emotion. She looked pained, like she was trying to remember something. Though at that point, I didn't know what. I could feel the memory going faint, the dark abyss once again caught me. It felt cold, yet the pain I felt was burning my chest. I still hated how far away I was from Shino, she was right here in this world, yet she didn't even know me. I might as well be a stranger. We were so close and yet so far away.

It was only a few days; the next memory took place. I had gone to the seventy-eight floor by myself, it wasn't much of a floor. It looked mostly like an old seaside town, mainly wooden huts and sea for miles. I looked took a trek up into the white mountains surrounding the sea, it would have been hard work if I actually wanted to care about this trip. The floor was awfully quiet, barely any monsters so getting up the mountain wasn't hard. The cold air blew in my face, and my body was getting numb as I climbed.

Not that it would matter, this was going to be my final trip!

It was strange, I didn't fear death. Yet I felt that I should, I was running away from everything. I was running away from the responsibility I had burdened myself with for over four years, I had killed my parents! They died because of me; my sister was dead because of me too. If I had been able to do anything, back on that awful raid at least she would still be with me. I wouldn't be alone anymore, but then I felt warmth again when I had seen Shino. It was stupid of me to believe she still cared, that we were still friends.

"Just forget about me." Those were her exact words, and she clearly forgot about me, if only I had taken that advice. Maybe then my heart wouldn't be damaged. Losing the only other person that meant anything to me was too much to bear. I didn't want to feel this pain anymore, call me a coward if you want, it doesn't really matter. If you can't understand the crushing feeling of losing everyone you loved, and being responsible for most of their deaths. You have no way to judge me!

I arrived at the edge of the cliff and looked down. The waves that crashed against the rocks were large and heavy, the rockface felt like it shook with every body of water hitting it. It was more then large enough to die of falling distance, it was the perfect place to end my life.

"I am all alone…" I muttered to myself. "We all start life alone, and now I will end my life alone." I took one step closer to the edge, my right foot leaving the edge of the cliff, leaning forward I could see the sea below me clearly now. The cliff was almost gone, this was it. The day I die!

"David!" A scream came from behind me, the voice I couldn't register properly but I think it was a female voice. Who was it? I just couldn't remember.

"I'm sorry…" I said faintly and my other leg feel over the edge.

"David…Don't!" I closed my eyes, yet something was off. I didn't feel like I was falling, had the person caught my hand. I did feel a slight warmth of human contact, and it then spread to my chest. I was being pulled back, yet I still didn't open my eyes. No that wasn't it, my eyes wouldn't open. For some reason this part was flooded in darkness. Did I just not remember what happened? Or was my memory blocking something out on purpose?  
"David…" The voice was saying something yet it felt my ears blocked out their sound. What was it trying to say? I feared I wouldn't get the answer to that, as all my senses were cut off and my journey through memories was about to end.

**A/N: Well that was a hard chapter to write, so for the whole 5 people reading this, I hope you enjoyed my chapter *Laughs*. Seriously though this was meant to come out last year, but I had to do so many rewrites in order to keep with the timeline and other factors. Still we now have our new hero, and as you can see, he is very traumatised. A perfect man for a job with ghosts and evil sprits** ***sweatdrops*. Oh well I hope you all had a good new year, and I will try to get out chapter 2 out a bit early next time. Still have a lot going on in life though so please be patient.  
Next time – The Camera Obscura! See you there!**


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